Search This Blog

Subscribe to this blog

Subscribe to this blog by e-mail:

Nature Appreciation Resources ~ Brave Writer Retreat

As mentioned in my last blog post, I am sharing with you a list of resources, books, and tools that I talked about during my Nature Appreciation workshop at the Brave Writer Retreat last week.

If you attended the retreat, this is similar to the handout included in your folders, plus a few other bits of information! This blog post includes many clickable links, which couldn't be done with a piece of paper...ahhh technology!

First, a few quotes to ponder:

“If getting our kids out into nature is a search for perfection, or is one more chore, then the belief in perfection and the chore defeats the joy. It’s a good thing to learn more about nature in order to share this knowledge with children; it’s even better if the adult and child learn about nature together. And it’s a lot more fun.” Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.

“It may not feel as if you are in nature when you walk through a city, but you are. All around you is a richly interconnected web involving nutrient exchange, competing interests, and cross-species communication. There’s an invisible world right in front of our noses, ready for exploration....To paraphrase Marcel Proust, the only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Nathanael Johnson, author of Unseen City.

“Some children are born naturalists, but even those who aren’t were born with a natural curiosity about the world and should be encouraged to observe nature.” Charlotte Mason. volume 2.

10 Simple Ways to Start Nature Study with Your Children

Lay down on a patch of grass and look at clouds

Do a seasonal nature scavenger hunt (google a list or make your own)

Pick 2 topics of interests, one for you and one your children choice, head to the library and gather books on the subject, including fiction picture books

Watch nature documentaries - Disney Nature or any narrated by David Attenborough

-Pocket Naturalist Guides Series.These are great for taking along on hikes as they are laminated, folded, and not heavy, while still providing useful information - available for so many locations and topics!

Photos of my kids enjoying nature from a few springs ago:Celeste smelling wildflowers, Andre with a worm, Adrienne crossing a creek and taking a photo on one of our walks (note the headphones...a must for her on our nature walks)

I feel so privileged to be a part of your nature study post and workshop. I love what I do in sharing my passions with others and it is so nice to see it blossom and fruit in so many families like yours. Thank you for sharing my work with others...truly appreciate all you do as well.

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

I have been tackling the Komono list. Mari Kondo explains that komono is "a Japanese term that the dictionary defines variously as small articles, miscellaneous items, accessories, gadgets or small tools, parts, or attachments".

The first item on the list were DVDs/CDs which went very fast. I personally don't own many DVDs but my husband and children do, so I put in a bin what had not been watched since we moved in our house almost 3 years ago. They will go through this selection when we get ready for our garage sale.

Skin care products and make up were the next two items on the komono list. I decided to take care of most of the bathroom.

In our bathroom, each family member has a drawer. My drawer was very quick at tidying. I hardly use any skin care products or make up. I used the KonMari method and got rid of anything I didn't love.

My makeup fits in one small glass jar, the one with the makeup brush in the photo belo…

We have always loved wildflowers and part of discovering our new island home is to find out about nature, including flora.

Last week, we went for a short walk on the Confederation Trail. This trail passes through Charlottetown and continues all through PEI. I'm hoping to either bike or walk more of it soon.

Celeste and I noticed some patches of lupine growing in a field right next to the trail. We saw a path and took it to get a closer look. We have seen lupines growing along the roads outside the city everywhere we have been so far. We have seen pink, purple and white lupines.

According to Get PEI website: "While the provincial flower is the Lady's Slipper, it is the lupine that is the flower most commonly associated with Prince Edward Island. The PEI government considers them to be invasive (i.e. a weed) and there are annual efforts to reduce their numbers on the island."

Wikipedia tells us that after the flowers, beans appear and they are "commonly sold in a …

If you are looking for a fun free activity to do while in Charlottetown, especially with kids, I would recommend this mouse hunt! You can either go to Founder's Hall to find the brochure or download the pdf here. The brochure gives you all the clues and some background information "history bites" on each location. The mouse hunt takes you through a few downtown streets without being too long of a walk. You follow the clues and look for Eckhart the Mouse. Eckhart is a character from The True Meaning of Crumbfest, a children's story book written by PEI author David Weale and illustrated by Dale McNevin from Charlottetown. We are waiting for a copy from the public library. I wanted to show you all nine mice, without giving away the actual locations:

This was fun! When we finished, we rewarded ourselves with some cow chips and raspberry cordial!